The Testing of Your Faith (James 1:1-18)

Introduction

If you have your Bibles with you this morning, please turn them to James 1:1-18.

The book of James is a favorite among many Christians today because it is a short, simple, and very practical letter. Many scholars today believe that it is one of the earliest letters to be written, which is why it is so practical—or in other words, it was written early in history to answer the question “what should I do as a Christian?” How should I live? What should I be like? How should I act?

In ch. 1 of James, which is where our text is located, we see that James starts his letter with a focus on trials in life or what we might call hardships in life. And really, it ought not surprise us because I think everyone in this room would admit that life is utterly difficult sometimes—in fact, some in this room might argue that they feel as if life is significantly harder than they realized it could be or would be. Life is hard, isn’t it?

In the case of the first century audience of James 1, we know that there is a significant hardship that’s in mind based on the very first verse of the text in which we learn of the author, the audience, and something about the audience that would cause hardship in their life. James 1:1 says “1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are in the Dispersion: Greetings.”

So, we see James, who is the brother of Jesus, the leader of the church in Jerusalem writing to whom he calls “twelve tribes who are in the Dispersion” the “twelve tribes,” of course, refer to those who are of Jewish lineage (and, of course, in context, we know this would be Jewish people who believe in Jesus), but what’s unique is this idea of them being “in the dispersion” or as the NLT states, James is “writing to the ‘twelve tribes’—Jewish believers who are scattered abroad.”

Why are they scattered abroad? Think back to the book of Acts, particularly Acts 8, after we witness the martyrdom of Stephen, we read in v. 1, “And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria”

James is writing specifically to Jewish Christians who have run from their homes because of the great persecution on the church by men like Saul, the Pharisees, and the High Priests.

That is the context that we’re coming into in James 1, so clearly, we know that their lives are absolutely filled with hardship and it’s in the midst of that hardship that James tells them to do something that may seem irrational. And it’s this command that James gives to them that lays the foundation for all of our text.

As we study James 1:1-18, we’re going to break the text into three parts: (1) God Uses Trials in Your Life (2-4), which shows us not that God causes these trials, but what God can use them for; (2) God Gives Wisdom During Trials If You Ask (5-12), and (3), which is almost a sub-point, when you face trials in this life, Don’t blame God if and when you’re tempted to sin (13-19).

Prayer for Illumination

God Uses Trials in Your Life (2-4)

Our text starts with something that probably seems irrational and at the very least, counter-cultural. Vv. 2-4 says this:

James 1:2–4 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James starts this letter by making a clear statement concerning how we ought to view trials in our lives and already, there are two things of great note in v. 2.

First, note how he says “when you meet trials of various kinds.” — it might seem like a minor detail, but it is rather an important detail.

James does not beat around the bush, he doesn’t try to trick them into thinking life is dandy, he doesn’t even leave a possibility that there might not be trials in life.

It is not if you meet trials of various kinds, it is when you meet trials of various kinds. He is flat out telling the Jewish believers spread around the world, that life is going to be hard and it is going to be hard in a number of different ways.

There are no ifs, ands, or buts, life will be hard, but when you find these hardships, count it all joy—be joyful.

Life stinks sometimes, but you ought to have joy in those moments of great hardship. The question is why?

Why should you “count it all joy” when life is difficult? Why should you exhibit any sort of emotion other than anger or disappointment or discouragement or depression during life’s hard moments? Vv. 3-4 answer that for us and the answers simple.

Through trials in your life, through the hardships that you face, through everything that happens, God is molding you and shaping you and changing you. James says that “the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Or in other words, God is growing you during the trials of life that you face.

In particular, what James focuses on is this idea of steadfastness or what we might refer to as endurance or perseverence.

It is the idea of standing firm in faith even during life’s greatest trials, tribulations, struggles, and hardships.

It is the idea of remaining faithful to God even when you struggle to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

And what James is saying is that when you face trials in your life, if you face them the right way and you make it through the trials, God will produce within you endurance, or perseverance, or steadfastness.

And when that endurance is being produced within you, you will grow and mature in your faith to the point that you yourself will be a mature Christian.

Or in other words, think with me of a fellow Christian in your life that you know has suffered through immense difficulties in life—they may have lost a child, they might be struggling with health problems, they might have other needs or a combination of all these and yet, they remain absolutely faithful to God, absolutely committed to the truth, 100% faithful in all matters.

Do you know what caused them to be like that? Do you know what caused them to be able to endure their sufferings and struggles? It’s because, they, through their life faced tremendous hardships and by the grace of God, they endured and God produced spiritual maturity in them through their endurance.

Or in other words, they handle pain, suffering, struggles, and hardships in life with unwavering faith because they’ve not only experienced hardships before, but they’ve remained faithful during those hardships and God used their hardships to help them spiritually mature.

They remain faithful because they’ve experienced tremendous hardship through their lives and they’ve learned to endure through those hardships in the grace of God.

How does God use trials in your life? He uses them to mature you in your faith to make you more like Him and James makes the argument very clear—knowing that God utilizes hardship in your life to produce spiritual maturity in you ought to cause you to be joyful when you face hardship in life. And know that James isn’t crazy with this concept, we see it elsewhere in Scripture:

Paul writes in Romans 5:3 “we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction brings about perseverance” or hardship produces endurance

Or consider Romans 8:28-29 “28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good [even the great hardships in life], . . . Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.”

God uses the hardships that you’re facing in your life to produce endurance and as He produces endurance in your life, He spiritually matures you, and as He spiritually matures you, He conforms you into the image of His Son—you become more like Jesus if you allow the trials of your life to be used by God to mold you, shape you, and change you.

God Gives Wisdom During Trials If You Ask (5-12)

Now, here’s the thing. You probably hear all that and you might think this: that when you face trials of various kinds, you can’t see how God could possibly use the situation to mold you, shape you, and change you. When life seems like it’s all falling apart around you, you might wonder how exactly God is going to use it to change you. And that is a perfectly legitimate concern. But I can’t answer how exactly God plans to utilize a hardship in your life to make you more like Jesus—I’m not God. And no one else can answer how exactly God plans to utilize a hardship in your life to make you more like Jesus—they aren’t God either. But someone can answer that concern and James points out that he gladly gives wisdom to those who simply ask. We see this in vv. 5-12—let’s look at them together.

James 1:5–12 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Life is filled with great hardship and struggles, but James says we ought to be joyous even in the midst of those trials because God can and does use them to produce spiritual maturity within us. But again, sometimes it’s hard for us to see and understand how exactly God uses those hardships to mature us.

So, James tells us in v. 5, that if we’re lacking in wisdom, we simply need to ask God for help.

And in context, with vv. 2-4 in mind, what James seems to be saying is this: When you face trials be joyful because God will use it to mature you, but when you’re struggling to see how God will use this to mature you, ask Him for help to understand.

But, of course, this has to be done in complete faith without doubting.

Now in vv. 7-8, James sort of chases a bit of a rabbit trail explaining how one who doubts and still asks God for something is unstable—the idea being that if you’re asking God to do something but you don’t believe that God can actually do something, you’re essentially being a hypocrite.

You’re pretending to believe in God’s ability to do something, but when the rubber hits the road, you don’t actually believe.

It’s almost like asking someone to do something—whether that’s get groceries, or clean the bathroom, or any number of things, but then going and doing it yourself because you don’t trust them to do it like they said they would.

Can you see how absurd it would be to do that when we’re speaking of God who is infinitely more powerful and able to do what He says He will do—including giving wisdom if we just ask?

In vv. 9-11, we then see almost like another rabbit trail in which James talks about the poor boasting in their exaltation and the rich boasting in their humiliation.

It seems almost as if it doesn’t belong in this section, but consider it like this:

In the eyes of man, the poor or lowly are often seen as lesser than others.

In the eyes of man, the rich are often seen as greater than others.

But in the eyes of God, there is no poor and there is no rich, the poor have been exalted, the rich have been humiliated.

Regardless of their socio-economic status of today, the ground at the cross is level.

In addition, what the implication, here in James, is this—that regardless of the socio-economic status of the person is today, both the rich and the poor live lives that are filled with hardship.

Life is hard for the poor and life is hard for the rich, it just so happens that the poor and the rich struggle with different things, but they both still struggle.

And because they both experience hardship in life, God uses their hardship to mature them, to grow them, to make them more like Jesus Christ.

And really, regardless of any socio-economic background—whether you’re rich or poor, a doctor or welder, a politician or accountant, a teacher, a cook at the local restaurant, a waitress, or whatever else you could do—God uses the hardships in your life to mature you, to grow you, to make you more like Jesus.

Which is why James can write v. 12, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

Or in other words, we all struggle in life—that is the nature of living in a sin-cursed world.

Life is hard—and yet, God can still use the great difficulties of your life to produce steadfastness, which when it has its full effect, will result in your spiritual maturity and in the next life, your spiritual perfection.

Now, there is one last section of the passage—and this section can really stand on its own but I’m suggesting that it ties into this idea of facing trials in life. Look at vv. 13-18.

When Faced with Trials, Don’t Blame God when you’re tempted to sin (13-18)

James 1:13–18 ESV

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

James wraps up this section of the text by talking about temptation—and the idea is rather simple. When you experience temptation to sin, James is making the argument that you should not and really can not or ought not blame God for the temptation. And James’ reasoning is really two-fold:

First, God does not tempt anyone because God cannot be tempted with evil.

It really ought to be obvious that God, who is described as all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present, and always good couldn’t be the one tempting us to sin.

I think part of the confusion that most Christians today struggle with concerning this idea is how exactly do we reconcile God’s sovereignty (the fact that He is in complete control) with sin in the world.

Let me assure you that this has been confusing theologians for thousands of years.

It is truly paradoxical in nature—we cannot really explain how this all works out.

But God is only ever good and thus, He cannot nor does He ever tempt us to do evil things.

Second, any temptation that we experience comes from within—it comes from our own desire.

It comes from our own hearts. Sin tempts us because we love sin more than we love Jesus and that desire within us for sin lures and entices and gives birth to sin, which we know has a consequence, which is death.

God does not tempt us, rather, James makes it clear in vv. 16-18, anything good that we have in life is a gift given to us from the Father. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,” who does not change.

Now, I mentioned that these last few verses can stand on their own, but I think that they’re really meant to tie into this idea of facing trials in life.

I think you’ll agree if I just ask one question—when are we most tempted to sin?

If you’re like me (and I’m willing to bet most of you are), you are most tempted to sin when life is the hardest. You are most tempted to sin when you’re facing tremendous hardship in your life.

For instance—say you’re at work and you made a mistake that cost your company hundreds of thousands of dollars. You will be fired for this mistake.

Are you going to tell the truth or are you going to lie? If you lie, you get to keep your job, if you tell the truth, you will be fired. This is a hardship in life isn’t it? And the temptation is to sin.

Or, maybe you’re in your last few weeks of school and you have your final exams. You didn’t study one bit because let’s be honest, it’s more fun to play Fortnite than it is to actually study math or English or history. If you fail, you’ll be held back or you won’t graduate, but someone offers to let you cheat off them during the test.

If you cheat, you’ll probably pass, but if you don’t cheat, you already know you’re going to fail. This is a hardship in life isn’t it? And the temptation is to sin.

When we face hardships in life, our temptation is to succumb to our own sinful desires. And in the midst of these temptations to sin, we could be tempted to jump further into sin by blaming God.

But James says that God isn’t who tempts us, our own hearts and our own desires tempt us to sin.

When you are faced with hardships in life, the temptation will be to blame God for the hardships and for the sins that well up because of the hardship—James reminds us not to do this because God doesn’t tempt anyone, our own desire does.

Which brings us this morning to our application and for sake of time, I want to give essentially a paraphrase of James 1:1-18, which has our application woven into it.

It goes like this:

Life is really hard, but have joy because God is using the hardness of life to produce endurance within you and that endurance will lead to spiritual maturity and in the next life, you will be perfected.

Life is really hard, this is the result of living in a sin-cursed world and the difficulty of life tied with our own desires can tempt us to sin—this isn’t God’s fault, He only ever gives good gifts because He is only ever good.

Life is really hard, but if you know Jesus, you can have hope because He will use these hardships to make you more like Him.

So, let’s be honest—for most of us in this room this morning, life stinks sometimes because of how hard it is.

BUT, brothers and sisters, “Count it all joy . . . [because] the testing of your faith produces [endurance]. 4 And let [endurance] have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Life is really hard, but trust Jesus, He knows what He is doing.

Pastoral Prayer